The European flag will fly on – or near – certain French town halls. This is the compromise reached by the deputies, after hours of debate, on the night of Wednesday May 10 to Thursday May 11. The flag must be displayed on the front of the town halls of towns with more than 1,500 inhabitants. After a tense examination, the bill brought by Renaissance was supported by 130 votes against 109 and must now be examined by the Senate.
One year before the European elections, the debate had turned since Tuesday to the debate for or against the Union. The bill had been voluntarily placed on the agenda on the anniversary of Robert Schuman’s declaration of 9 May 1950, considered to be a founding text of European construction. But she is far from having aroused enthusiasm at the Palais-Bourbon, where she faced criticism from the opposition, and the reluctance of certain deputies of the majority, in particular those of the MoDem.
The prior rejection motion, filed by La France insoumise (LFI), was however rejected in the evening on Tuesday, before the text narrowly escaped amendments to delete its single article (160 votes against 169).
Amendments finally softened the initial text, allowing flags to be hoisted near town halls or on their roofs and above all by exempting municipalities with fewer than 1,500 inhabitants from the obligation to display flags, for financial reasons. “The exemption concerns 70% of the municipalities of France”denounced the deputy Les Républicains (LR) Philippe Gosselin, ” it does not make sense “ in “One and indivisible Republic”.
The portrait of the president present in the town hall
In fact, exactly 78% of French town halls are not affected by the measure. ” Either [le drapeau européen] it’s important, it’s a symbol and we display it everywhere”, or no, criticized the ecologist Jérémie Iordanoff. His group, which had announced earlier in the day that it would vote for the text, despite its appearance “politician”, finally opted for abstention, once the amendment on small municipalities was adopted.
The deputies also voted for an amendment to guarantee, in all town halls this time, the presence of the official portrait of the President of the Republic, a use that is also widespread. Then two others to affix the motto “Liberty, equality, fraternity” on their facades (Leaument amendment, LFI) or display the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen inside (Gosselin, LR).
“The vote that will be taken shortly will be a vote in favor or against European construction, no more, no less”launched on Tuesday the rapporteur of the bill, the Macronist deputy Mathieu Lefèvre, assuming its scope “symbolic”. “Those who find it difficult to hide their discomfort in front of the starry flag have just as much difficulty hiding their dreams of a disguised Frexit, red for some and brown for others”, he continued, targeting the “rebellious” and the National Rally (RN) deputies. The Secretary of State for Europe, Laurence Boone, went further by pointing out the “two extremes of this hemicycle”.
“Diversion attempt”
The “rebellious” deputies mocked, like the Communists, “diversion attempt” of the presidential camp with a measure “without any practical use”. “The way in which you plan to impose the beautiful idea of internationalism with what is becoming the liberal construction of Europe will make people hate Europe”thundered MP LFI Alexis Corbière.
The deputy of the National Rally Jean-Philippe Tanguy launched a frontal attack against the starry flag, which according to him does not carry “no symbol”. “There are only three colors [devant lesqu]they the French bow: blue, white and red. »
Philippe Gosselin (LR) castigated a debate “cleaving” And “binary”Who “creates discord”. His group had proposed making only the French flag compulsory. The deputy MoDem Erwan Balanant had, him, assumed the initial doubts of his group on this text judged ” not useful “, hesitations that created friction in the presidential camp. But he felt that the debate had finally had the merit of showing “the hatred of Europe of the RN” and the “quibbles” of LFI.
As if caught in a vice, it was in the name of their pro-European commitment that the Socialists had announced that they would vote in favor of the Renaissance text.